Amy Lyles Wilson

Forgiveness

Sat, 14 May 2022 04:00:37 GMT

Go beyond merely forgiving and forgetting … and discover how to make peace with your past.

"Like many of you, I've been dealt a few cards I do not think I deserved," writes Amy Lyles Wilson. "In response, I used to think forgiving and forgetting meant I had to act like I had never been wronged. The writers in this collection tell me otherwise. Forgiving, they say, does not require pretending you were never hurt. It does mean, however, that you'll need to make peace with your past to embrace the future."

Learn how to genuinely free yourself from resentments and get on with your life through gentle guiding words from Henri Nouwen, Douglas Steere, Mary Lou Redding, Marjorie Thompson, Flora Slosson Wuellner, and others.

This insightful, healing book addresses such questions as:

What exactly is forgiveness, and what is it not?
Should all hurts or offenses be forgiven?
What do I do if someone refuses to forgive me?
How do I forgive myself?

If forgiveness doesn't come easily to you, take heart. With practice, you'll learn how to let go and move on.

Compassion

Sat, 14 May 2022 04:00:09 GMT

Do you practice extreme compassion? When a calamity strikes, you're ready to organize, donate, volunteer.

But there are quieter personal tragedies all around you every day. Whether it's a faraway look in the eyes of a coworker, friend, family member, or stranger at the next table in the coffee shop, burdens come in all sizes but weigh equally.

Carrying one another's burdens means being attuned to stressed intimates as well as suffering strangers.

Sometimes we all may be a little guilty of stepping over those we know and love to reach out as part of a big project to someone in trouble across the globe. And we should do that. But assume someone near you right now needs a little of your time, a bit of your spirit and your listening heart.

"Compassion: Thoughts on Cultivating a Good Heart invites us to consider that our attention to the little things makes it easier to appreciate the concerns of our friends, families, communities, and the world at large," writes compiler and editor Amy Lyles Wilson. "In so doing, we can begin to conduct our lives with an ever-present spirit of compassion instead of saving such outpouring for tragic situations and natural disasters."

The essays in this powerful little book provide examples for doing just that — whether it's tending injured animals or bearing the burdens of another. Writers as varied as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Wendy Wright, and Robert Corin Morris urge us to appreciate the gift that compassion offers. You'll be guided through several practical paths of enhancing your capacity to care.

Remember: What goes around comes around. Think how grateful you'll be when someone notices the lost, faraway look in your eyes one day and responds with compassion.

Hope

Sat, 14 May 2022 03:59:40 GMT

A collection of writings that reminds us how hope plays a role in our lives today, not just tomorrow, and that hope is more than false optimism to those who believe.

Anger

Sat, 14 May 2022 03:59:12 GMT

Does anger sometimes get the best of you? Are there days when you feel mad at the world?

Anger is a common human emotion, yet it often leaves us squirming with discomfort and worrying that we're not spiritual enough.

In Anger: Minding Your Passion, you'll find a collection of writings that explore the constructive use of this powerful emotion. Sometimes we have every right to get good and mad. It's what we do with our anger that matters.

As you read and ponder thoughts from such noted authors as Frederick Buechner, Sue Monk Kidd, Madeleine L'Engle, and Thich Nhat Hanh, you'll find validation for your feelings, as well as suggestions for handling anger. You'll discover that you can cope with anger while still believing in and having a relationship with God.